DUH, Big Red Truck! Again...

We are a firetruck/fireman loving people.  I presume it's a boy thing, except for the love of firemen.  That is strictly left to us girls.  So once again, the playgroup planned a fire station tour - our third one that we've been to.  These are always a hit, because, again, who doesn't love the Big Red Truck?  Plus, it was on a day that Isabella was off of school, so Big Sis got to come with us!

Ryan, a bit overwhelmed by all the other kiddos.

How can Gina so look freakin' cute with a baby hanging off of her.

Oh, cuz she is just so freakin' cute!

IzzyBee & Sean waiting for their turn in the truck.

Look at Little Man!

Sean & Isabella

Melissa and my Piglet

All because Sean wouldn't stand by himself.

There's my big, brave guy!

Isabella is such an amazing big sister!

Holy cow!  It's actually a picture of me and all my babies!

All the kiddos with the firetruck and firemen!

If you look closely, you'll see some blue jean legs hiding behind Isabella.

That would be my shy kid.

You look like a monkey...

On Isabella's last cycle break, she came to the Zoo with the boys and I and our playgroup - which, of course, she loved, because she loves being a Momma to the little ones!  I took too many pictures of essentially the same thing, but it is yet another example of how freakin' cute my kids are.

This is Ryan hanging out with his cougar, er, I mean, girlfriend.

Someone's not happy...

Audg channeling Olivia Newton John

Favorite friends Jodi & Amelia

See?  I said they were Cute!

I would not let these two loose on the rest of the zoo.

And not that I'm anywhere near caught up, but later today come back for the Fire Station Tour!  Have I mentioned how much I love our Playgroup, all the things we do together and all the friends we have made.  Love all you guys!

Playgroup Halloween Party

Every year, someone in the playgroup has a Halloween party, but this year we had two - one during the day with the kiddos at Anastasia's and one in the evening with the families.  It was so much fun, though it was rain delayed until Sunday evening.  Crappy Halloween weather!  Nevertheless, whenever we all get together as families, it's so fun to see the dads hang out and get to know each other, and of course, us moms and kids always have a great time together!

Kudos to Mandy for a such a great time - what a great idea, the games, the food, the atmosphere!  I hope this is a new playgroup tradition!

Ryan (in Sean's costume from two years ago) & Daddy

Isabella, channeling Jason (or is that Michael Myers?)

Sommer, the Preggo getting eaten by a shark.

This kid just gets cuter by the second.

One of the Pirates of the Carribean stopped by.

Sean totally steals the lead from Autumn in the

Race Around the Cauldron.

Sean's Bestest Buddy in the World, Nate, begging his daddy for a drink.

Look at these two Besties, scammin' for some treats

Devilishly-Evil Cauldron...of Hot Cocoa

Melissa...somewhere in the background,

can't you hear "Smoke Gets In My Eyes?"

Welcome Baby Firecracker!

This week turned into a Baby Girl Trifecta for three of my Playgroup friends!

Congratulations to Kari, Brian and Big Brother Nathan

on the arrival of

Audrey Josephine

Wednesday, July 2nd

5:31 p.m.

6lbs, 12oz

The Babies are coming, the babies are coming!

Two down, one to go!  Big Congratulations to....

Vicki, Bradley and Big Brother Adam

on the arrival of

Eleanor Grace

Friday, June 27

3:51 p.m.

7lbs, 8oz, 21 inches

AND Big Congratulations to....

Susie, Mike and Big Sister Natalie

on the arrival of 

Emma Louis

Tuesday, July 1st

1:15 a.m.

7lbs, 6oz, 19 inches

Kari, good luck today!  Can't wait for the news!

Duh, Big Red Truck!

This morning, Sean and I joined good friend Kari and her son Nathan for breakfast before heading out for a few errands.  It was painful, Sean hasn't had enough sleep in the past 24 hours, and actually right now is crying because I won't let him open the new package of Goldfish, even though we have a just opened package.  I know, I'm horrible.

Last Friday morning was decidedly different, as Isabella, Sean and I joined the Playgroup for yet another Fire Station Tour!  Woo-Woo!     My good friend Melissa volunteered to have the full fireman regalia put on - what a trooper, she did awesome!  We got a tour of the station and the Big Red Truck - which was awesome! A week later, I can't remember any of the guy's names, but they were great, and very patient with such a huge group of moms and their very small children!   I think Isabella liked it, but she may have enjoyed playing Mother Hen more than the actual tour.  There's a photo here of her holding Hayden, one of her keeps!    Sean, on the other hand, did not hide how much he loved every second of it, and is still sporting his new fire truck hat around the house!

The Whole Gang

Charity Garage Sale This Weekend

A few of us in my Playgroup have been busting our butts to get a charity garage sale together for this weekend, and we're trying to get the word out!

What's so wonderful about this sale is that all of our proceeds will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation - in honor of one of our Playgroup members and her son, Chase, who has CF, and will be three years old next month. The Playgroup makes no money from this sale!

And the sale will be huge! We have donations from 20 or so families, with items ranging from children and baby clothes and toys to household electronics and decor - and everything in between!  Ceiling Fans! Exercise Equipment! Games! Lamps! Clothes! Toys! And More Toys!

You Name It, We Got It! 
Crazy Good Prices!

Friday, April 11th, 5-8pm
Saturday, April 12th 7am-12pm

27 Concord Trail Dr, 63376
Located in the Butternut Stage subdivision, off of Laura Hill Rd.
Hwy K to East on Laura Hill (toward the Michaels and Target).
Turn Right on Butternut Stage Dr, about a mile down Turn Right on Concord Trail Dr.
Follow to the end of the cul-de-sac.

Follow The Signs!

Long and stressful week

This past week has not been one of my favorites. It's been long and stressful, with drama entering my life from every angle, and me really not wanting to care, but someone now able to get over my compulsive need to please everyone. But there were glimpses of really fun family life over the past few days, so here we go....

Last Weds. night was Sean's first tumbling class. What a hoot! I was too in awe of it all to get any halfway decent photos, but here's Sean enjoying one of his two new favorites, walking on the balance beam.  He also loved the trampoline.  Actually, he loved it all, the little ham!

Saturday, we were up in Hannibal for Isabella's basketball game.  All that hard work for a tie, but we had fun cheering them on!

Here we are on Sunday at my Grandma's 80th birthday party.  GiGi, you look awesome and we love you!

Isn't this kid just too cute?  Don't mind the half naked girl in the background.....she decided she didn't want to be a princess anymore.  And yes, that's family friend Nate next to her, dressed as Tinkerbell.  Really, the photo's about my gorgeous kid, but there is some 'splainin' to do!

And tonight, Trey finished these awesome storage shelves in the part of our basement that will remain unfinished.  There's the little guy giving Daddy a hand!

And here's hoping that the next week kicks butt, rather than kicks my butt.

Sean the Cookie Monster

So today at our playdate at Katie's, Sean played wonderfully with all the little ones. He spent huge amounts of time "coloring" all over the art easel, and creating fine cuisine in the pink play kitchen.

But more than that, he stuffed his face with cookies.

He sat up here at the dining room table, by himself, eating cookies, for over 30 minutes. I was so lost in good conversation, I almost forgot I had brought a child with me. It was pretty glorious!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's hoping that everyone is having a great day, filled with lots of love!

I found this great want ad in the personals today:


In other news, Sean and I had a playdate at Melissa, Grace & Nate's today, and as always we stuffed our faces and I drank too much coffee! Melissa, always the overindulging hostess, stuffed us with cookies, cupcakes, peanut M&M's (Sean's new favorite!), and other assorted goodies, and then fed us a fine lunch of chicken "Dinos" and mac & cheese. It was fantastic, especially since I played no part in preparing it.


This is one of Sean's friends, Amelia, and they played so sweetly together today. They're only two weeks apart in age, and were so sweet blowing kisses goodbye when it was time to go.

When we got home, Sean and Sophie played outside for a bit, as it's almost 55 degrees out this afternoon. This yard was covered in snow yesterday. Anyway, Sean had a screaming fit once it was time to come inside - you would never know that was coming by looking at the cherubic face in these photos!